Curing the Cure
by MarcusJuniusBrutus
Summary: After 'The Cure', Malek stuggles with his feelings about helping the Pangarens. One Shot.


Disclaimer: These characters do not, of course, belong to me.  
  
CURING THE CURE  
  
On the one break that he allowed himself, Malek quickly consumed a meal that he knew would have to sustain him for an indefinite length of time. Being both a scientist and a Tok'ra base commander- two occupations which, in themselves, provided full schedules- he was used to that.  
  
The rest of his time was spent reclusively in the science lab, working on an antidote to eliminate the Pangarans' dependence on the supposed miracle drug, tretonin. This work went swiftly, thanks to the information given to him b Egeria. He probably could have just as easily manufactured the drug on Pangar with no time wasted, but he still did not feel comfortable working around humans- especially the Pangarans. They were, after all, directly responsible for the death of the Tok'ra queen, Egeria.  
  
Realizing how tense such thoughts were making him, he opened the hand that he had unconsciously clenched at his side and took a deep, calming breath before a miscalculation could work its way into his measurements. He let his host, Kameni, take control of their shared body while he cleared his mind of such thoughts. He didn't want to think about the Pangarans, and was certainly reluctant to help them.  
  
"But she forgave them," reminded some kind of inner voice. Thinking that Kameni was speaking, he mentally turned towards him for an irritated response.  
  
Kameni cut him off before he could address him. "That wasn't me; those thoughts came from you."  
  
"They did not," Malek replied quickly, though as soon as he thought it, he knew Kameni was right. There was, of course, no reply, but his own memories surfaced, unbidden, as a stubborn contradiction to his pervious thought. An image flashed across his mind of Egeria floating in the tank on Pangar and the readings Kelmaa had showed him of the massive cellular degeneration of the dying symbiote, which was caused by the Pangarans' experimentation.  
  
At the time, of course, they had all thought that the symbiote was Goa'uld. He himself had found it fascinating that such a primitive race could use the Goa'uld to their benefit. He recalled his own words to Colonel O'Neill with a pang of guilt. "...But I do not find it morally objectionable, if that's what you mean." Malek shuddered slightly and rationalized, "There was no way to know."  
  
That thought was immediately echoed by a memory of the Pangaran leader, Dollen. "We could not have known," he told SG-1 after being informed about the symbiote's true nature.  
  
His own feelings of guilt reemerged, increased in strength. "I am as guilty as the Pangarans," he realized, "if they ever were."  
  
Footsteps behind him brought him back to the present. "I just came in to check on you," Korrah said. "How are you coming?"  
  
Malek found himself uncomfortably at a loss for words. "We just finished," Kameni informed him, coming to Malek's rescue. "We will be departing for Pangar shortly."  
  
Korrah nodded and ambled off after casting a curious glance at both symbiote and host; Kameni didn't speak often, even to their good friend. When Korrah was gone, Malek passed along a feeling of gratitude to his host. Kameni accepted it wordlessly and settled back mentally to give Malek control of their body again.  
  
Malek quickly ran a few tests on the antidote, even though he knew Kameni had already done it. Sealing the drug tightly in a vial, he picked up the disk that Kameni had copied the prototype's formulas onto. Then after a brisk check of base operations to make sure that it could survive without him for a little while, Malek attached his communicator to his belt and transported up to the planet's surface via the rings. Marching the short distance to the Stargate, he dialed in the coordinates for Pangar and stepped through the blue event horizon.  
  
The first thing he noticed upon arrival was the cluster of individuals pacing nervously near the 'gate, some of whom he recognized, evidently awaiting his return. He was slightly amused at their nervousness, but glad for their sakes that he had not taken a long time in his research.  
  
Dollen hurried up to him with a look both quizzical and hopeful. The military leader, Tegar, was close behind. Malek didn't give either of them the chance to speak, however. "I have completed the prototype, and am confident that it will successfully restore your immune systems in a short time. If you show me to your scientists, I will instruct them in its manufacturing."  
  
"Yes of course. This way." With hands trembling form excitement, Dollen gestured for Malek to follow and led the Tok'ra back to the lab where Malek and Kelmaa had recently worked, but which was now teeming with scientists.  
  
Malek carefully instructed the scientists, who eagerly copied down his every word. After he patiently explained some of the more complex concepts that were beyond their knowledge of chemistry, he settled down to watch them duplicate his results and answer their questions. During a quieter period, Dollen approached him timidly. "We are very grateful for the efforts of the Tok'ra, but there is still one matter in which we would request your assistance." Malek cocked his head in a gesture for him to continue, but all the same, he felt a resentment towards the presumptuous human. "One of our guards," the Pangaran leader was saying, "was, uh, inhabited by one of the symbiotes, if you recall. Would it be possible for you to remove it?"  
  
Malek seemed to hesitate as several internal forces battled to dictate his response. But there was only one voice that he was listening to at that moment. In his mind's eye, he saw the dying Tok'ra queen and hear Egeria's voice as she said, "The salvation of the Pangarans will be my final act..."  
  
"I will see what I can do," Malek told the human.  
  
It was almost in a whisper that he heard for neither the first nor the last time, "...Such is the spirit of Tok'ra that I wish to live on." 


End file.
